happy holidays :)

This holiday season has been a wonderful time so far! It's been a little wet...but we also had over a week of beautiful white snow, and it was so much fun to see how Sasha reacted to the glow of the winter wonderland :)

The last time I actually wrote an update was close to 2 months ago now...and boy oh boy, does a lot ever happen in the life of a baby in that time!

So instead of giving the update in story mode, I'll keep it concise. On the health front she has now had her second round of immunization shots which she barely reacted to, and the third set are scheduled for early January. Our pediatrician is still thrilled with Sasha's development, which is good news. For weight and length she is in the 97th percentile for her age at 21 lbs and 28 inches long (mind you that was a couple of weeks ago...and we just had to upscale to the next diaper size - already size 4!!)

The not so good news was that she could be on antibiotics for up to two years as we wait for her to outgrow the reflux problem with her kidneys. Her reflux is about as bad as it gets apparently, so there is little chance of her outgrowing it within her 1st year. Since she is at easy risk for infections she will need the antibiotics to reduce her chances...'cuz another urine or kidney infection could require surgery to correct it. So for now, she is super happy & healthy and we remain positive.

January 23rd we will spend the day at Children's hospital where two tests she had done while in hospital will be redone. Our follow up with the urology specialist will be right after the tests so he'll be able to let us know how much progress she's making and if any major damage has occurred. She will also be radioactive baby for a couple of days again...maybe she'll end up with a super power ;)

As for the rest of life, I'll let the pictures tell the tale. Here are the highlights:

- Sasha has been sitting up all by herself for a couple of weeks now. She's so close to crawling...working hard to move a few inches forward at this point before she decides rolling there is easier for the moment. She's pulling herself to standing while holding hands, and likes to practice walking too
- check out the smiling pic where you can see her bottom teeth! her third tooth up top is on it's way...
- checkin' out the winter wonderland with me on the deck and on a walk with daddy
- center of attention with Aunty Karli and her cousins Sarah and Elise...and again with Granpa and Granma Liz
- on the lap of her brother in a pic with her cousins Cheyenne and Keyanon, and on the lap of Aunty Julie who's expecting in a couple of months (yeah!)
- below are pics of Sasha with her buddies Merlin and Charlie, and also a pic of her new friend Melody (it was amazing to watch Melody and try to imagine Sasha at 15 months next year at the folk fest!)
- not at all a fussy eater, below are pics of her first teething cookie and sucking a lime! I thought she would pucker up and refuse it...but after a quick grimace she put it back in her mouth for more!
- sacked out with daddy on the couch, and trying on his glasses for a look at a blurry world ;)
- she attended her 1st Music with Marnie show (we love our friend Marnie! and if you have kids you must check out her shows, or CD's...even better if you're in Vancouver...both! www.musicwithmarnie.com) at a Kids Around the World event.
And if I haven't told you about Kids Around the World yet...shame on me! please please visit www.kidsaroundtheworld.ca and "Come See the World in Our City" (I'll include more info on this developing children's museum in a future post)

And to end on a positive note for the year (next update will be in 2007!)...
the free hug campaign continues to spread across the globe (there are now videos from many countries!) and it really warms my heart to see it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l53QBX6TxyU

please follow the link and see the power and the beauty of a hug (and I really love the part when the students all pile on the bus to hug the driver and passengers!)

be part of the revolution and hug someone new today!

Happy holidays...and cheers to days full of wonder in the new year. Thank you for your positive energy in the first year of Sasha's life with us!

peace to you and yours
Kathy, Mark, Che and Sasha
:)

then & now...in the car seat

two weeks...


and six months later!


think it's about time to get a bigger seat? ;)

six months!!

it's hard to believe that Sasha has already reached the mid-point of her first year of life! what an incredible journey it's been...and oh how much we love watching her develop her own little personality - equal parts quiet observer and talkative spunky cuteness...like here in her red hot chili pepper costume! :)

so many firsts...and in the past two weeks a few more...

Sasha is not always fond of the bath (to put it midly), so a week or so ago we had our first shower together...what an adventure! she seems to like it well enough and perhaps this will help her become a water baby after all ;)

While keeping me company in the office (I'm on a mission to organize this space one pile at a time so I can work in it again!) Sasha had her first accidental injury! I had been looking out for her not to roll into any corners...but in one moment of not looking she rolled her head under the filing cabinet and wedged it nicely...ouch! She howled in protest (rightly so!) but within a few minutes of rescue and comfort she was giggling away again!

I'm glad we made it to about six months before her first accident...though she had another just a few days ago...a lovely "I've got springs in my butt" launch over my leg into the coffee table! Again she was giggling moments after recovery! If she is even half of an accident-waiting-to-happen that I have been in my life, this resiliency will certainly come in handy! LOL!

Sasha was a welcome positive energy last week when we attended the funeral of Julie Cullen, who I worked with at First Call. She spread smiles to everyone who looked at her and she was calm and observant through the whole ceremony. Julie lost her struggle with cancer...but I will always remember her for the extraordinary life she lived. She leaves behind a wonderful legacy as a champion for children and community. I feel privileged to have known her, and am grateful for what I learned from working with her. With every passing of someone I know (sadly this was the 37th funeral I've been to since I was 12) I take time to reflect on the knowledge shared with me from each person...and Julie challenged me to identify my skills and make sure I was putting them to use for the better good of my world...a life-long challenge that people like her continue to inspire me to live up to. Another touching thing was that a gentleman from the church gave Sasha a beautiful pink stuffed bear on our way out...we named her julie bear.

For Sasha's first halloween we hung out at Shannon's 'cuz her house is always completely decked out and it's extra fun to see the kids freak out when they come for candy there! ;)
Granma picked up the most adorable chili pepper costume which happened to be a perfect fit. There are soo many great pics of her in it, so I chose my faves to share below.

And since parenting is all a big learning curve I have to share my thanks to Granpa who lived through the beginnings of Sasha's separation anxiety. As I had a physical at the doctor's (conveniently only blocks from his place) I thought leaving her there for a couple of hours would be easy...however next time we now know to arrive much earlier so she has time to acclimatize to the environment! She was not a happy camper when I left, but Granpa worked his magic and they made friends not long after. :)

along with a few other faves from halloween (with Shannon, Granma and the jack-o-lanterns), the pics below show Sasha getting a quick sponge bath from daddy; moments after her first accident...you can see the red mark at her hairline above her left eye; already more interested in boxes than the toys on the other side of the room; hangin' out and eating her feet; asleep with julie bear on her head :)

here comes the tooth!!

3 days ago we finally felt her first tooth breaking the surface of her lower gums! very exciting even though it's hardly visible to the eye...especially when her tongue keeps gettin' in the way ;)

Sasha has been pretty close to a regular schedule of feeds and sleeps...but to help it become a bit more stable we've been staying closer to home the past few weeks. not as many all afternoon adventures...

however we have still managed to get our share of social time with friends, and we had a nice full weekend with Che who continues to grow in his role as a wonderful big brother :)

as you can see Sasha loves smiling...and has amazing dimples! she now breaks into a big grin when she sees the camera too. below are pics with Gillian and entertaining Merlin with her toes; with me (in the style of my friend Jeff who has mastered the art of taking pictures at arms length...not bad for my first attempt!); with Thomas, Kristina, Keyan and Haney; and the best pic yet of our adorable kids!!

giving thanks :)

thanksgiving gives us another moment to pause and reflect on all we have to be thankful for...and of course at the top of our list is our healthy baby girl Sasha (here sittin' up with daddy, and a couple of new pics below) and her brother Che!

but we are also blessed to have a large tribe of family and friends to enjoy life with, and we are ever grateful for the quality of life we have because of these wonderful folks who share their love and support with us. words cannot express our gratitude to be surrounded by so many amazing people!!! :)

in the past two weeks we reconnected with our friends Gillian & Merlin and Anita & Charlie. see Sasha below with Merlin (in the overalls) and Charlie (in green)...so cute! very nice to catch up with my good friends!

Thanksgiving dinner this year was at Jane's, and as always a fabulous meal leaving us all stuffed and content! Below is a pic of Sasha and her cousins Kenton, Sarah and Daniel who each helped feed Sasha her first turkey dinner...babyfood style! and thanks to Sarah who made sure we all took a moment to think of 3 things we were thankful for before eating :)

thanks to all of you for keeping tabs on Sasha too...I have been happy to receive so much positive praise of this blog, and it is for all of you who enjoy it that I love updating it for!

much love and many hugs to you and yours from the 4 of us!

p.s. you know I love my hugs...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4&mode=related&search=newfoundland%20mun%20free%20hugs%20campaign

one solution...a hug revolution!! a positive example of the power of one...
this 3 1/2 minute video on the free hug campaign will make you feel awesome I promise...especially the last minute!!

be sure to pass on the positive energy this provides :)

seasons changing

21 weeks have passed and fall has snuck up on us. we had our first official hibernation day due to rain last week, so we are really taking advantage of every sunny day now to get outside. fortunately there are still many to enjoy :)

i was feeling like very little had happened as I sat down to write this update...however there are a couple of firsts:

as you can see Sasha is now sitting in her high chair to join us for dinner at the table! here she is casually hangin' out while eating her carrots, and below anticipating another spoonful.

we had a visit to Brit pool, where Sasha met Zuzanna for the first time (pic below with her and Elaine) and we also got a pic of Sasha with Wally, who "have the same haircut" as he says - teehee :) Sending some positive energy Zuzanna's way as she competes this month in the international lifeguarding championships! go girl!!

she's still rolling over, and starting to get less fustrated by not being able to go anywhere from there...you can see the wheels turning as she thinks about how to move forward...

she has definetly begun the teething process, though no idea after a few weeks how soon the first tooth will come through!

and we also lived through Sasha having another fever a couple of weeks ago without too much stress...yah right! given the last time she had a fever we ended up in the hospital for 10 days it was hard not to be a worry wart...but I trusted in my experience in what is 'normal' for her behaviour, and in her body's ability to fight anything not too severe...and (sigh of relief) she is perfectly fine and smiley as ever!

now that we're far into September meetings are starting up again. my education advocate hat is back on, though I feel I have some catching up to do on the issues as everything took a backseat the past year to my preoccupation with becoming a mom! I spent my longest time apart from Sasha over two days at a think tank for the development of a new Social Justice 12 curriculum to be introduced to BC schools in the next couple of years. While Sasha spent her days having fun with Granma, I was experiencing some very emotionally charged dialogue, learning new things, challenging my perceptions and meeting some really great folks...all of which left me stunned for a few days afterwards! still reflecting on this positive experience...

we squeezed in a visit to one more bbq event at the community level being held by our friend (and MLA) David. (see Sasha below with David, as well as a pic with one of my favorite community activists Kelly) the event was at Kengsington community centre (KCC) where I have just handed in my nomination papers for an executive position on the board. I have really valued the learning experience my past year on the association board has given me, so am taking it to another level for the year to come...we'll see if I get elected at the AGM in October. Sasha has come with me to a few community meetings and so far has exhibited a lot of patience...of course made easier when there are many eager arms to rock her about :)

Mark never actually took a break from his meetings during the summer for the union and Carnegie...so the only really new thing with him is that it is his birthday on Tuesday!! He's going to a Vancouver Giants came with our friend Tom (Che & Keyan will be going too of course!), and it will be a great father & son bonding night at the good old hockey game...WHL style!

And Che is just thrilled to be back at school - lol! As this is his last year in elementary though I think it could be worse...he's got the end of one level of school almost over! He just can't wait for the graduation party at the end of the year ;)

so the rain may be coming but as always we are just busy and happy enough to not mind at all. staying inside sometimes gives me a wee bit of time to work on my photoshop (and other) skills while she naps...can you guess which pic below is my latest creation?